MP3: US Supreme Court strikes down gene patents

In a ruling which has wide ramifications for the bio-technology industry, the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that because DNA is a product of nature, it can't be owned. It strikes down patents held by US corporation Myriad Genetics, a company in the US that does certain tests for breast cancer and charges thousands of dollars. Source: abc.net.au

The Australian and American governments are holding their annual Ausmin Defence talks in Melbourne today. The two nations are expected to do more to tackle cyber security threats, and what's known as Space Situational Awareness - the tracking of satellites, missiles and space junk in the southern hemisphere. The two will also discuss putting US defence equipment in Australia for use in military exercises and in respo...

In Pakistan, at least 15 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in clashes between protesters and police. Friday's day of prayer was a day of chaos in Pakistan, as rallies protesting against a film that insulted the Prophet Mohammed turned violent.

US consumer authorities are warning parents against using sleeping aids for infants. They say the devices have been connected with 12 suffocation deaths in the United States in 13 years. Here a SIDS advisor says there's a need for a safety standard to cover such devices.

A Queensland researcher says the Federal Government needs to make it harder to set up company identities or risk becoming a haven for money laundering. Researchers from Queensland's Griffith University and the University of Texas in the United States have posed as corrupt officials and terrorists to test the laws regulating the purchase of so-called shell companies.

There is some good news for the Gillard Government today with more politicians getting behind her proposed flood levy. But it's not all plain sailing and there is a rocky road ahead for another of labor's policies - health reform.